Recent cuts to Medicaid threaten the ability of families, particularly within the Indian American community, to care for their aging loved ones with dignity and support.
When the Senate passed the sweeping Megabill that significantly reduced funding for Medicaid, it marked more than a mere shift in healthcare policy; it represented the unraveling of a vital lifeline for millions of American families. For Indian Americans, these cuts are particularly devastating, jeopardizing core values such as caring for elders with dignity, maintaining close family ties, and ensuring that parents and grandparents age surrounded by love rather than institutional walls.
My 100-year-old grandmother has lived with our family for decades, benefiting from home health services covered by Medicaid. This support has allowed four generations to share in her twilight years. Without it, the burden would fall heavily on my late mother, who battled metastatic cancer while caregiving for her; my uncle, who faces chronic illness in his seventies; and my aunt, now in her sixties. These narratives are not isolated; they reflect the experiences of countless Indian American families nationwide who honor their elders while relying on stable public support to do so.
The recent cuts to Medicaid threaten to dismantle the caregiving compact that has sustained many families. According to the Caregiving in the U.S. 2025 report by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, there are currently 63 million unpaid family caregivers across the United States—approximately one in five Americans. Among them, about 6% identify as Asian American, often navigating the cultural expectations of multigenerational care alongside systemic challenges such as healthcare access, language barriers, and a lack of culturally relevant home and community-based services. Notably, three in ten caregivers of older adults provide over 20 hours of unpaid care each week, often while juggling employment commitments.
In Indian American households, where nearly 70% of older adults live with or near family members, Medicaid-funded home supports make it feasible to fulfill cultural obligations without succumbing to financial and emotional strain. The AARP report highlights that more than half of all caregivers report experiencing high emotional stress, with one in four facing severe financial burdens. The cuts to Medicaid introduce yet another layer of impossible choices: leave the workforce, sacrifice personal health, or place loved ones in understaffed facilities.
The new bill’s cuts of over $1 trillion to Medicaid strike at the fragile infrastructure that supports family caregivers, including transportation to medical appointments, respite care, physical therapy, home health aides, and essential items like dentures and eyeglasses. These services have played a crucial role in keeping aging Americans safe, independent, and at home.
This situation is particularly disheartening given that caregiver policy had begun to make progress. Bipartisan initiatives, such as President Trump’s RAISE Family Caregiver Act in 2018 and President Biden’s National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers in 2022, aimed to provide recognition and resources for caregivers. However, the recent Medicaid cuts threaten to reverse these advancements, eroding trust and pushing millions back into isolation and exhaustion, forced to bear the weight of caregiving alone.
In Indian culture, elders are often viewed as repositories of memory and identity. Caring for them is not seen as a burden but as a blessing—a recognition of the wisdom accumulated over a lifetime. However, blessings cannot substitute for broken systems. When policymakers strip financial support from caregivers, they compel families to choose between their jobs and their aging parents, between pursuing the American dream and fulfilling their cultural responsibilities.
At 100 years old, my grandmother continues to share her life stories, reminiscing about her childhood in pre-Independence India. She walks diligently on her rolling walker, engaging with each generation and communicating in broken English with her great-grandchildren, who delight in their attempts to speak Gujarati. The loss of Medicaid support now threatens these cherished interactions within our home.
As life expectancy increases and the prevalence of dementia is projected to double by 2040, the demand for home and community-based care will surge. The recent cuts to Medicaid will do the opposite of what is needed; they will accelerate institutionalization, caregiver burnout, and despair.
This issue transcends party lines. Caregiving is a universal experience that connects us across age, race, and political affiliations. AARP data indicates that 75% of Americans wish to age at home, but for this to remain a viable option, Medicaid must be preserved and strengthened.
For Indian American families, who view caregiving as an act of love and legacy, this is not merely a policy debate; it is a collective struggle to uphold the sanctity of home. As we approach Family Caregiving Awareness Month this November, let us urge our lawmakers to reverse these damaging actions and restore faith in the promise America once made to its elders: that aging with grace is not a privilege but a fundamental right.
Source: Original article